For those of you that don’t know anything about my work history, I’ve been involved in skateboarding for many years. I’ve been around it as long as I can remember and that’s how I got my start holding a camera.
I know what you’re thinking: Rick, you’re too big to be riding a skateboard. Believe me, I’ve heard all the jokes from just about everybody, like the bigger you are the harder you fall, which in most cases is true. Yes, I’ve taken many slams—some hard ones too—and I did finally get to the point where I said, “Fuck this, I’m over it.” I screamed, “I quit!” and that’s when I threw my skateboard into a wall in full Rick Rage™. I was really pissed off and knew I had to make a life decision: to put my skateboard aside, pick up a camera, and get behind the lens to start documenting all my friends. Eventually I got good enough to start shooting with the professionals, and all of that experience has lead me to where I’m at today.
When I left the skateboard industry, I tried my best to keep in contact with everyone I’d made friends with over the years during my time working at Big Brother magazine. The first thing that happened to me after my departure, though, is my phone broke and I lost all my numbers. It was a total loss. Facebook wasn’t around yet, so it wasn’t that easy to get reacquainted with all my old friends—or at least by my fingertips. I had to do everything the old fashioned way, by going out and meeting up with people at events and gatherings to collect the numbers I’d lost. It took some time, but I eventually reconnected with my old friend Chicken. That’s his nickname, if you didn’t get it, and he’s someone who works in the skateboard industry that I’ve admired over the years. We’ve kept in touch ever since.
A few months ago, Chicken reached out to ask if I wanted to make a video for his skateboard company Pocket Pistols. They’re a small company that sells boards online, but they have a kick-ass team! My first thought was, “Do I really want to step back into skate world?” but then I started thinking about how much fun it would be. Working on all the different TV shows and movies over the years, I’ve learned a lot of things that I could apply to the project, so I went ahead and produced the video.
Nowadays most skate videos are using high-end production techniques with 4K cameras and stabilizers, like using a Russian arm attached to a car following along the with skater down the street, or filming above from a helicopter or drone. Sometimes they’re even adding explosives in the scenes, which I think is great, but it doesn’t necessarily make the video any better than any other. I think what’s most important is the message and how it’s delivered. That’s what makes a good video.
So this is Pocket Pistols’ debut. I thought we did a pretty good job for what we had to work with. The soundtrack rocks, and I feel we achieved a little cinematic magic to put Pocket Pistols on the map as a respectable company. What I really liked about this project, though, is that we kept things loose, raw, and spontaneous, and delivered the right message: go out, ride your skateboard, have some fun, and put your phone away. —Rick Kosick
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